Stories, analysis, highlights, and everything Yankees from an up & coming sports journalist.

Baseball at the Movies: Top 10

Today I was flipping through the channels and came across Major League II on TBS. It made me think of all the great films out there that have portrayed the game of baseball on the big screen.

There have been so many baseball motion pictures that in Cooperstown, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, there is an exhibit dedicated solely to baseball movies. I decided to write in my top 10 favorite baseball flicks. I know many people have written these already, but I figured to throw in my favorite movies.

10) Angels in the Outfield

I know, it’s not the strongest of movies, but Roger and JP love the game. They are both separated from their parents and turn to the greatest game in the world for support. With a little divine intervention from Christopher Lloyd, real Angels help the Anaheim Angels win. A great movie for the family.

9) Little Big League

Another one for the younger audience, but still a great picture. Billy Heywood’s grandfather passes away, but leaves him a fortune: the Minnesota Twins!

Heywood becomes manager of the team and guides them to a winning season. There are so many cameos of the greatest players at the time: Ken Griffey, Jr., Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Paul O’Neill, Randy Johnson, and Lou Piniella to name a few. Pretty decent flick that portrays our favorite sport.

8) The Benchwarmers

This movie kind of got a bad rap, but I was one of the ones that liked it. The overall theme of the movie was important: bullying is wrong.

I especially loved the fact that director Dennis Dugan used baseball as a means to stop the bullying and have the little leaguers work together. Plus, that Stadium they built was impressive; a touch of the Yankee Stadium frieze, Fenway’s Green Monster, and the ivy from Wrigley Field.

The geeks may have lost the final game in the movie, but at heart, they really won.

7) Rookie of the Year

Henry Rowengartner. He was living my dream as a kid pitching in the big leagues. An accident somehow made his velocity go up, and he was picked to pitch for the Chicago Cubs.

As a kid, I always wanted to have an accident so I could throw harder, but my parents and coaches told me accidents don’t make you throw harder. This will always be a great baseball movie in my book.

6) Major League

Not only was this one of the best baseball movies I’ve seen, it was by far one of the funniest. I loved Bob Uecker’s quote: “One hit?! All we have is one God damned hit?!” “You can’t say that we’re on the air! Well, nobody’s listening anyway.”

All the characters are colorful, from Ricky Vaughn to Willie Mays Hayes. The story is great, and after viewing this film, I think the Indians will forever be in Cleveland, even if some stuffy owner’s wife wants to move the team…

5) 61*

I gained a new level of respect for Billy Crystal after I saw this movie. Now I know it’s about the Yankees, and I want to be un-biased, but this was an amazing picture. The actors playing Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle (Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane, respectively) did such a masterful job of portraying their feelings during the roller coaster ride that was the 1961 season.

It’s not easy chasing the greatest record in baseball, and at the film’s end, I truly feel that Maris is the rightful single season Home Run King. After going through death threats, losing his hair out of stress, and the media making his life a living hell, Maris deserves the right to be called the King.

4) For Love of the Game

I saw this movie with my uncle and my cousin the weekend it opened. This was more of a love story, but it is such a touching movie.

The last place Detroit Tigers play the Yankees with washed-up Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) on the mound. As Chapel pitches, he reflects on his love life with Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston). He notices after seven innings that he’s pitching a perfect game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on the final game of the regular season.

Vin Scully’s quote still gives me goosebumps: “Tonight, Billy Chapel will take the walk to the loneliest spot in the world, the pitching mound at Yankee Stadium to use that achy arm to push the sun back into the sky and give us one more day of summer.”

When he finally records the last out and notches the perfecto, Scully says, “The Cathedral of Yankee Stadium belongs to a Chapel.” If you are a guy and love baseball, watch this movie with your girlfriend. There’s something there for both of you.

3) The Rookie

High School baseball coach Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) tries his luck and makes it to the majors after his high school team makes the championship. It gives everyone hope that you can still fulfill your dreams, no matter how old you are.

After playing for the Durham Bulls, Morris makes it to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and pitches in a game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. His players are there in the nosebleeds to root him on. This is a movie that will most likely stand the test of time, and will be watched for a long time to come.

2) Bull Durham

This movie came out exactly a year after I was born. Costner plays Crash Davis, who is an aging catcher called up to tutor rookie pitcher “Nuke” LaLoosh. Unfortunately for them, they are both romantically involved with a woman which makes a love triangle.

I learned something from this movie. 108 beads in a rosary, 108 stitches in a baseball. Coincidence? I think not. The “I believe in” speech that Davis gives is also gold. A little harsh, but brutally honest, which makes it classic. This will always be revered as one of the greatest baseball movie of all-time. They’ll be talking about Bull Durham for years to come.

1) Field of Dreams

Costner again. He must love the game. Anyone who has seen this movie knows how great it is. Ray Kinsella (Costner) interprets voices to build a baseball field on his farm. When he does, the Chicago Black Sox, or at least their ghosts, come to play there.

Who wouldn’t want to build a diamond and see their favorite players come out and play there? If I could pick a team, I would build my field and have the 1998 Yankees play on it. Kinsella’s line, “I’m pitching to Shoeless Joe Jackson…” speaks volumes. If I had it my way, it’d be, “I’m pitching to Tino Martinez…” being that he was favorite player on the ’98 Yanks. This movie is the best of the best.

According to the Internet Movie Database, this movie ranks a 7.6 out of a possible 10. I could easily rank this film 10 out of 10. After this movie is over, go play catch with your dad. You need to. It is one of the most engrossing films I’ve ever seen.

There you have it. My top 10 baseball flicks. There are so many other great ones, but this is just my opinion. If anyone would like to share their favorite baseball movies, feel free to comment!

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.